ve the opportunity to lead. you leave for six years. you can stay in congress if you want but not in that same committee. i felt comfortable that we put in place a better solution. i think since 94 we have gone through bill, john boehner and now john kwan in being the leadership spot on the education committee. i committed to this. as an avid surfer 12 years. -- i said i would served 12 years. i served as the ranking member. when it came to an end, i

thought those time for me to leave. >> congress is being asked to vote on waivers for the committee chairmen. we do support that? >> no. there is only been one waiver to da since this has been put in place anthat is when george >> they felt he was instrumental for leading the intel committee after 9/11. it was a very specialized circumstance. i would be very disappointed if i saw my colleagues giving waivers on this. the process has worked. >> we only have one minute left. do you anticipate that when you walk out of that office for the

last time after all these years what your prevailing fobbs will be? >> it will be nothing but positive. it is one of the greatest jobs and the world. you lose your privacy and it is a very difficult job but both lots will be nothing but positive and with real optimism about what i can do in the future. >> that was a quick half-hour and thank you for spending it with as. >> thank you. joins ushoekstra next. >> rep bill huizenga it joins us. you will be taking over for your old boss, rep. hoekstra who serve for 18

years. >> on the substantive side of things, there will be very little difference. i was one of his policy advisers and a director was -- and my title was director of policy. you will not see a whole lot of difference in our voting. it is a style of thing. i am a different person. maybe that's where you will see the difference. >> he is known for the legacy he will have in the house, his reign on the intelligence committee. does that interest you? >> yes, that would be very interesting to me. i was working for him at the time when 9/11 happened in 2001. that sharpened of the nation's focus as well as ours as a staff. that is a little bit of my

background which is in foreign policy and concentration on the latin american history and politics when i got my political science degree. i have travelled quite a bit. my committee assignment is on the financial services. i just received that and i have a background in small business. literally half an hour ago, i was standing in the gravel pit with a couple of my employees and my business partner who is my cousin. that is my heart. we would love to do that. the other thing that will be mr. hooks as legacy will be to work and education. that was his first passion when he got into washington. it was higher profile than intel. i am pleased with my particular committee assignment, with financial services and i will hit the ground running. >> lessons learned from the congressman? >> a lot of lessons. make sure you pay attention to

the district. he beat a 26 jessup year incumbent in what was at that time literally the biggest upset in the country in 1992 and he did it by making sure that people back in michigan heard him and saw him on a regular basis. that was one of my jobs was to make sure that we had a consistent and pervasive presence back here in the district. that is probably the best lesson to learn is making sure you are taking people back -- taking care of people back, are the other thing is to make sure we are using taxpayer dollars wisely. unfortunately, we can't always look to our constituents square in the eye and say that we are using every dollar you give us in the must eat fish manner. those are two big lessons -- in the most efficient manner. we have different personalities. you just have to be yourself.

if you are the same person in church or in the grocery store or on c-span or when you are talking in front of a chamber of commerce like they did this morning, they get a sense of who you really are. >> you said you will be serving on the financial services committee. what is the first thing you want that committee to do? >> obviously, there is reform issues that are coming up. there is the dodd-frank bill that is talked about. i am looking forward to german baucus -- chairman baucus who will set a bad agenda. -- will set that agenda. professional investors have been contacting me and talking to me about what their experiences are in dealing with regulations that we have.

first and foremost, i will be in a learning mode and looking at what subcommittees' we will be on that will be the next big issue. >> will you be serving on any other committees? >> no, financial-services is considered and 'a' committee. energy and commerce, ways and means, appropriations, and financial services. what we will do is serve only on that committee but then have some of subcommittee assignments. incomingy of the freshman republicans said no to a spot on the appropriations committee. were you offered that? why do you think there -- that used to be a sought-after committee but many of these new republicans say they don't want to serve on that theme i was not offered that opportunity. >> i may have taken them up on that. i think that is one area where

there will be a tremendous amount of activity. it is incumbent upon the republicans to make sure that our talk that is our walk. it will be difficult. we talk about fiscal restraint. on the front lines of that is ways and means and appropriations as well. why others are declining it, i am not sure. i hope we have the courage of our convictions as a caucus and as a conference to move forward on that. from what i have heard and seen of the list of people on there, we have some very competent people. >> you said this will be difficult. a new poll came out recently in mid-november that the voters don't have much faith that republicans can deliver on their election promises. >> i think we are kidding ourselves if we think that november 2 was all about what

great people the republicans are. there is a lot of dissatisfaction with the direction. i come from a very republican area in michigan. especially younger people and others, i would experience of them and they say they wanted a change. they want to give barack obama a chance to go in a different direction. one year into it and you talk to them again and they say they wanted change but that is not what they meant. i think it is a combination both of the message the republicans bring forward as well as the reaction to what the democrat majority has been pushing for a incumbent upon usin to walk the walk. we are different, fiscally, morally, and we better do it. if we don't cover the american people will send a message to us and we will pay that price politically. >> does that begin with an

earmark ban? >> yes, we already put that in place. when we had new member orientation, we voted on the conference rules about was one of the first things that we voted on. i enthusiastically supported that. >> what is your position on the tax-cut deal that was just approved by the house? >>mr. hoekstra was one of the 35 republicans that voted no on that. there are some very good things in their when we talk about estate taxes and giving certainty. the response that i got from a number of people in michigan was that we are loading it up with earmarks and subsidies. it is a little different. i will not monday morning quarterback.

it is a difficult vote but i think we will see more of those types of all votes where the choice is not good vs. bad, it is a bad choice versus a really bad choice. we have to make sure that we are consistent on that. >> it sounds like you might have voted yes. issuesn't have all the or all the facts. i probably would be leaning no on it. first and foremost, the debt issue is something we have to tackle. i have five young kids and i used to say on the campaign trail that those are the five reasons for running. if we do not get this shot dead beast under control, it will eat us alive. erskine bowles talked about it as a cancer that would keep us from within. we have to keep an eye on every

single vote and make sure that is a significant part of the equation. i cannot tell you exactly how i would have about it. i would have been leaning no and following mr. hoekstra on that. >> the president says this should increase employment and it could bring unemployment down closer to 8%. given that, look to the future and what do you want republicans to do on jobs and the economy? >> the private sector creates prosperity. the public sector does not. we have to make sure we are focusing everything we do helping to create an atmosphere that will put paychecks in people's bank accounts and create those jobs. i think that is what we really need to be focusing on as we move forward. we have some very difficult

decisions that we have to make on the spending side, on the revenue side and all those things. that has to be our primary focus. the key here is making sure that we have a vibrant private sector and the atmosphere that will allow the october norse to emerge and that is everything from credit availability to regulation, making sure that the regulatory environment is positive for them to go out and do the things they need to do without needlessly damaging the environment or other people. also, the taxation issue. >> have you had a conversation with john boehner? >> yes, i had a chance to talk to him a couple of different times, i should start calling him mr. speaker. after my primary win in november, after that election, i have been out there twice. we had a new member orientation and last week we were back out

there for some issues briefings with the congressional institute and i had a chance to chat with him and mr. kantor and mr. mccarthy and had extensive conversations with both of them. we are people ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work. that has been very positive. that has been very encouraging for me and some of the other freshman colleagues i talked to. steve southerland is from the panhandle area in florida and his distinction is that he just won his seat back as a republican. republicans had not held it since 1886. he said he is tired of hitting a range balls. he wants to tee up. that is the feeling a number of us have as we watch what is happening in the lame-duck session. we are eager to get in there and get in the game ourselves them u.

>> what is the first agenda item that speaker john boehner should address? >> the speaker will set that along with the majority leader as to what we need to do. some of that will be dictated by what happens in the lame-duck session. the budget deal was struck in the house. we will see what is happening in the senate. we have a few of those issues such as the tax and unemployment issue seeming to come to an end. we will probably deal with health care i imagine right at the first of the year, getting ready as we lay ground for the president's state of the union address. >> i heard from some republicans that one of the other items they want

board in the budget. what do you think should be cut first? >> i am not sure that just doing a blanket across-the-board cut is necessarily the right direction. i am not saying that we can't do 5% reduction but we also need to look at what programs work and what programs should we be doing constitutionally. that may not necessarily mean an equitable a 10% cut across the board or so. there may be some of that but we need to dig in and why would we want to fund programs that either aren't working or we should not be doing? we should identify those issues and those programs that are working and that we constitutionally should be and must be doing and fund them well and make sure they have the adequate funding to do what they are trying to do and then a de- funded those other things that are not working well or we should not be doing. i would not say that we would

lop 20% off the budget but i do think that we will have to deal with a budget number of very, very soon. >> does that include cutting spending at the pentagon? >> everything has to be on the table. this morning i spoke at a chamber of commerce here. i had a couple of veterans, that afterwards. there is concern how we are caring for our beds. my dad is a world war two, disabled world war two veteran. my brother in law is a doctor, rehabilitation doctor and work in walter reed and the national rehabilitation hospital for a number of years. i have had experience and feedback from them. we clearly have to make sure we are taking care of our returning veterans. are all the programs that we have in place, are all of the spending policies and

procedures, can we tighten those up? the answer i think is yes. i talked to former and active military people that i know and they are all telling me that we have to look at this and this has to be on the table. or zero anything dumb that will put this in risk or at danger. please, make sure that the military is held to the same standards we withhold social security or any other administration. use those dollars of efficiently and wisely. >> you said you are serving on the financial services committee. is there someone you look forward to meeting or maybe questioning as you said, financial services committee? >> not necessarily, there is not anybody that i want to pull in. i will modify that. i want to talk to dave transit. in all seriousness, we need to

bring in david ramsey to the capital. we need to talk about basic economics. the same economics that fit into our families lives. it is that kind of fiscal responsibility that we need to bring in. clearly, we will have some discussions with people who are dealing on wall street and some of the other banks. i think they have some questions that need to be answered. i am encouraged. don't see another tarp-type bill coming out of this committee but i think we have tough questions that we should be asking of people in the industry and what they are doing. we have credit availability which is a constant issue and that helps create an atmosphere for positive job growth. that for me would be an area that i would like to look at on the financial services

committee. my background is in real estate and developing. my family has a construction company. housing issues are another big issue for me as well. i am here to dive into some of those issues. >> you are currently small business owner. >> yes, i own a gravel company. it is a third-generation company. my grandfather had started it and my dad and my uncle grew that and expanded it into a ready mixed concrete company. a number of years ago, my cousins but that portion of the business. i bought the gravel company. i have a couple of employees. literally within the past hour, i was standing out in the gravel pit next to my employees with our front loaders and the trucks. it is an amazing intersection when you start talking about passing cool things legislatively at the state level as i have done in the past or at

the federal level and having to live with the effects of that as a small-business owner whether it is regulation or taxation or the general attitude. it often seems like government is ready to say no regardless of what the question is. we have to make sure they say yes and how can we help? it is a very helpful thing having firm footing in both of those worlds. for me having a public policy background at the federal and state level and also having the small business background and being self employed as a realtor and having employees in my gravel co.. >> i read that the incoming majority leader, eric cantor, sent books to all you freshmen republicans do's and don'ts. he said to keep your profile visible. what have you been up to? >> we have been out and around

quite a bit. the big thing is that pete and i have such a close relationship. we talk constantly. our staff to talk to each other. some of his staff by either serve with or helped pioneer. hire. i have named his district director my chief of staff in washington. i brought his senior legislative aide and bringing him back to washington and he will be my district director. we have been out and around. i have a fairly high profile within the community being elected like this bird you get invited to a number of things. it is not anything we have not been doing either when i was a state legislator or as a candidate. it is just a bigger territory as we go around. we are trying to make sure that

people know we are out and listening and i think the key is, as we start getting into this congress in january, is making sure that we return home and we are back communicating with people. the schedule they have laid out will help us do that. >> will your family be joining you in washington? >> no, i will commute. we have direct flights from grand rapids and into reagan national and b w i. that will work for us quite well. my parents are older and they are down the street from where my wife and i and our kids live and the school is literally 1/4 of a mile and the other direction i want to be able to make sure that my kids have as much of a west michigan upbringing as they possibly can. we plan to take advantage of having them out in washington and i think it will be a unique opportunity for them, to. >> have you found a place to live? >> i have not yet.

i am following a guy who famously slept on his couch for 18 years. that is a tough act to follow. the three biggest questions that i got the campaign trail are what will you do about health care, what will you do about the deficit, and are you going to sleep on your couch? we will be looking at that. another member of the delegation said he would have no problems sleeping above the store he just would not be sure he wants to sleep in the store. that is an event as i had in working with pete, going into it with my eyes open. whether i end up on the couch or whether i end up in an apartment with a couple of other colleagues or not, we will say. >> representative bill huizenga, thank you very much. >> my pleasure.

>> on monday, the group americans for tax reform will host a debate among the candidates for chairman of the republican national committee. five candidates have put their names forward to challenge incumbent michael steele barry we will have live coverage on c- span beginning at 1:00 p.m. eastern time. >> the senate is also -- often called the most exclusive club of the world. i wonder if it is so exclusive if someone from a town of 300 people and a high-school senior class of nine students can travel from a desk in that small school to a desk on the floor of the united states senate then a search for farewell speeches and hear from retiring senators on the cspan video library with every cspan program since 1987, more than 160,000 hours, all on line, all free. it is washington, your way.

>> congressman james oberstar has represented the minnesota eighth district for 36 years and has served as house transportation committee chairman since 2007. in november, he was defeated in his reelection bid in recently spoke to was for about half an hour. >> chairman oberstar, i want to start with partisanship if we could. state.tay with the home help me understand a state that can support dfl and the tea party. >> this was a unique year, a national wave of reaction against a number of national issues. they did converge in minnesota as they did next door in wisconsin. that convergence of anger, lack

of understanding to a great degree, perception that the country was off course and off track, just came together and we lost the minister of the state senate for the first time since 1972. it was not only off the majority, we lost the 2/3 majority in the senate and similarly in the minnesota state house, six votes from a veto over a. arrirride. in my district around the western and southern portions of the district, there was this swing. all the state legislators the, dfl legislators lost in that area yet we elected a democrat to the governor's office.

it was quite a curious outcome. it affirms the independence of minnesota voters. >> in your own case, did you see it coming? >> i knew from the very beginning, the year right after the obama inaugural that we were in for a difficult year. it was a transition election. it was a transformational time for the president was going to take on major issues. he was going to propose challenging, very seriously and deeply challenging options for the congress and the american people. we had a huge debt to override. we have massive unemployment.

the troubled assets relief program we had to manage. i knew in january that we will not get these problems solved by the time of the next election. i prepared my campaign staff and office staff. i told them we had to work hard and do a lot of outrage and we did. and we needed to take on these issues but not shrink from the tough votes. the health care i knew would be the toughest of all the votes. >for me, this is something very visceral. in 1948, the steelworkers union with my father as a founder, he had card number one for the underground iron ore miners in 1937, in 1948, they were

negotiating a contract with big steel and proposed coverage of health insurance and retirement in their contract. the steel companies appealed to the national labor relations board that retirement and health insurance are not proper subjects of contract negotiations. harry truman won the election. he had spoken at a big rally at the iron range and had been through still country. he replaced the chairman of the national labor relations board with someone more friendly and understanding of the concerns of labour. the steelworkers of union appealed the previous decision. the board then ruled that health insurance and retirement are extensions of pay and therefore proper subject for proper -- contract negotiations. three weeks -- three years later, 1952, steel workers went

on to strike for 150 days. i brought lunch buckets out to my father and other men on strike. i remember it well. they won. they prevailed. over time, they improved their inclusion of health insurance and retirement pay in their contract negotiations. i just wish my father had lived long enough to see the day we passed a national health insurance program. it is not universal coverage or single payer but it is a vast improvement. >> we have done a series of these interviews with members not coming back. over the course of the last 20, 25, 30 years, it has been a. growth in the united states. it has always been a period of growth we are in $14 trillion

worth of debt and the current congress will have to spend -- spent the next few years trimming government. is it more fun being a congressman when you're adding programs and building that will be for the current congress figuring out how to cut? >> i served on the budget committee during a reagan years. we spent hours and hours finding ways to trim the spending and cut that program and to meet the goals of deficit reduction under the old rudman hollings deficit reduction targets. it is not a pleasant task. it is one that requires cooperation of the executive branch and the legislative branch. i understand very well how difficult it is to balance these

things. in that first reagan budget, he cut and eliminated the grant program for waste water treatment construction, building waste water treatment plants, to clean up our municipal household waste whether discharge into streams or estuaries. he converted that to a loan program and then we saw the loan program restricted. those are not the purposes for which i sought service and the congress. i wanted to expand the support of government for those public purposes that have a broad social benefits such as clean water. there is -- we are not creating more water in this world. all the water we will ever have is with us today and we need to protect and handed over to the next generation. i have also served in congress

long enough to have voted for the clinton deficit reduction package. it was the bill that sets us on course to a balanced budget and a budget surplus in 2001. $236 billion budget surplus. in 1993, we voted to cut programs for 400 federal agency programs. we reduced the number of subcommittees in the house. we cut our own budget in the house of representatives in that same act. the result was a structural change in the functions of government. we also recaptured some of the high end tax revenue from those

high-income earners that ronald reagan had cut taxes for. the result was $236 billion budget surplus. that was on track to have zero dead held by the public in 10 years, saving social security for the next 75 years but then president bush pushed through a huge tax cut for the richest 2% of americans, launched this into two wars that were not paid for or offset by taxes or offset by a shared sacrifice by all americans in their tax structure and that put us on course to have high unemployment and together with a financial meltdown, a change in

the glass stiegel act which allow non-bank banks and banks to function otherwise. here we had this huge collapse of the home mortgage market, of the domestic and international financial market and a need for a rescue package. somehow that became the democrats' problem, not the republicans' problem. send thee didn't message write or express it properly to the public, we did address it. whiletarp was a bush-year initiative to deal with this financial meltdown, the restrictions and restraint that were put on us and the accountability -- secretary of the treasury paulson wanted $750

billion not to be held accountable. we put restraints on the use and all but $20 billion will be paid back. maybe that $20 billion will also be paid back but the rest was paid back with interest. that message got lost in this last election. going back to your original question -- i knew we had these difficult issues to deal with. i knew we had health care to deal with. i did not anticipate health-care taking so long. i thought it was something that we would see through to enactment in 2009. that did not happen because of delays and filibuster is and hot holds and things the senate does. they have 412 house-passed bills on transportation infrastructure that have not been acted upon.

they can turn around and say the democrats have the white house, the senate, and the house and we cannot pass these bills. somehow, in the relating of news and selling of the story, the other part was not told. the republicans in the senate dictated the agenda. senator mcconnell dictated the agenda and he is very skillful at maneuvering filibusters at the right time on the right issues and holding things up and making it difficult for us to move our agenda. nevertheless, we did move that agenda. much of it but not all of it, we still have 412 bills pending in the senate that they have not acted on. , including the future of aviation, for example. >> let me ask you about partisanship in congress.

this has been repeated about lamenting the partisanship or lack of partisan -- bipartisan cooperation inside the congress. do you share that lament and if so, can you trace its roots? >> in our committee, in this committee room, we have probably had the best buy partisanship of any committee in the house and of the senate. -- in 2007, we passed the water development act to expand the locks in on the mississippi and improve navigation and build levees to protect against floods and rebuild the wetlands in the gulf of mexico and the east texas 32 alabama. -- through to alabama president bush vetoed that bill. we overrode the veto.

that is bipartisanship. it takes 2/3. in the history of the congress, there have been 1170 vetos and only 106 have been over. verwritten. i establish partisanship -- bipartisanship with the ranking member from florida not just when i took the chairmanship but prior to that when i was chair of the aviation subcommittee. we did things together. i established an inclusiveness with the republicans. during the later years that we served in the minority when mr. shuster of pennsylvania was chairman of the full committee, he and i traveled the country in support of a 67 increase in our

surface transportation bill that became known as t-21. and then atlanta, at the end of a news conference where we travel to see the congestion points, the last question was a reporter who asked why i was a democrat traveling with mr. schuster, a republican. i said because i have never seen a report -- a democratic road or a republican bridge. we will work together. the reporter turned to mr. shuster and asked him the same thing. he said jim oberstar and by our joint at the head. we have different viewpoints but we reach a common ground. we stuck with it. we forged something better for the country. not everyone has the best ideas. if you find common ground, you reach good ideas and good

policy and -- that is workable for the country. throughout 2007, 2008, we passed a significant legislation recall authorizing amtrak which had not been done in 15 years. mr. micah came from one perspective and i came from another. he wanted to engage the private sector and i did not think that would be workable. as we talked, as we look each other in the eye and laid out specific proposals, there was a trust between us. he is not setting a trap for me and i am not setting a trap for him. we are being open and honest with each other. we are seeing what we can do for the public good. we achieved an authorization for amtrak that eventually in the following year, 2008, president bush signed into law.

i can say that for the state revolving loan fund and other bills we passed in 2007. there are a host of other measures. if you work together and trust the other person, that person has good ideas, seeking the public good from his or her perspective and that person looks at you that you have the same goal in mind, you can achieve these good things. what happened in the latter part of this congress was that the republican leadership took more control, i think, of committee

initiative and set a harder and more difficult edge. an example is the position of earmarks. we have never consider the work of the corps of engineers an earmarks. that has always been considered a project by project. you authorize a study of the problem to determine whether a levee is the right approach or some other initiative is the right approach. we look at the potential costs and the potential benefits. that report comes back to the congress and we reviewed and authorized a the next step. and then a third step and finally it goes through with a signature from the chief of

engineers. the republican leadership took the position that this is in the general categories ofan earmark and told members you cannot recommend projects steps like that disrupted the bipartisanship. although in this committee room,

i said we need to move this bill through committee. when we get to the point of bringing it to the house floor, if there is a change of heart, you are welcome to bring your projects back again. that could have been done differently. that could have been made in early partisan but i said that is not the right way to conduct the public business. >> between your 18 terms as a member and the 12 years you spent before hand as a top staffer on capitol hill, you have seen many presidents. i am wondering which of those you serve was the best at promoting his own legislative agenda? who work with congress most effectively? >> lyndon johnson. john f. kennedy was an ideal person. he inspired people. he aroused their best passions and best in stinks' and

appealed to the -- and best instincts and appeal to the greater good. lyndon johnson knew how to get it done. he spent a lot of time on the phone. depending on the nature of the problem, he would ask for help. he worked every issue. purse nunnelee in addition to havin -- he worked every issue personally. i have never seen anyone so affective as lyndon johnson. in one instance, i have been working with my predecessor on the public works economic pact. it

did a great deal of work writing the language. my predecessor saw that i was invited to the white house for the signing. lyndon johnson gave pens out and grab me by the lapel and said he wanted the clean water bill. lyndon johnson would have been margaret as president if he did not have the war. >> i would like to look across the ark of time you have served and ask if you can't tell me what your most memorable boat was.

>> my most memorable bill and i have had many that have been enacted into law. my first term, second year in congress, the house and senate had passed a cost-of-living adjustment for retired federal employees. shortly afterward, i received a letter from a constituent saying that they noticed that congress passed this cost-of-living adjustment. i am a federal employee. i am a lighthouse retiree. i did not get an adjustment, why? that is a fair question. i was serving on the coast guard subcommittee at the time it turns out they had their own separate retirement program in 1939 when the lighthouse service was absorbed into the coast guard. it should have been included in

a separate provision of that cost-of-living adjustment bill but it was not because people did not know this. i introduced legislation. it covered 130 for retirees. this is a footnote to history. the office and management and budget objected, and i said this is the right thing to do. the full committee passed it, the senate passed it, the house passed it, gerald ford signed into law. i signed it, sent it to my constituent and said the congress has acted in a correct way you have brought to my attention. two days later i received, quite a few days later, i received a

letter from his wife saying that his husband -- her husband had received the note and he was thrilled this had passed. he died the next day. he died knowing that government could work for even one person. >> if you care about something, write your member of congress? >> the constitution provides for every citizen, preserves the right of every citizen to petition the government for redress of grievances. that person petitioned the government and the grievance was redressed. although he did not reap the benefit, his widow did, he knew that government could work even for one person. >> you spent a lot of time and this committee room over the years. what will you miss the most? >> i will miss the hearing process, the give-and-take, the questioning of witnesses, the

seeking of the right answer, the seeking of truth. that has been my quest in all my service in the congress. i will miss problem-solving. when life -- what i find the most rewarding is the lighthouse retire read or the problem or the need for a light rail service in the city of minneapolis -- that is a $480 million issue -- it is finding a way to make it work, to get it done. that i find the most rewarding part of public service. >> there was a newspaper story about you clearing out your office.

space that you have accumulated. what will you do with your papers? >> the minnesota historical society deputy director came to review the files and help me understand what they find useful for history. ♪ and which the rings to discard -- in which things to discard. many things have gone largely to the library of congress and 20 boxes will go to the minnesota historical society. probably eight or 10 boxes of material i will find useful in whatever i pursue next. are staying with me. >> have you decided what you will be doing next? >> i would like to teach a

graduate level to help shape the thoughts of the next generation of transportation professionals. i want to continue to be engaged in the aspects of transportation that i found the most exciting and rewarding, the livability issues, safer schools. i would like to change the habits of an entire generation of children. and moving them from inactivity to an active lifestyle and reducing the possibility of growth and obesity and type 2 diabetes. i want to be engaged in the complete streets and safety issues of transportation. that is quite an agenda. that is much of what has propelled me in the committee

work i have done. >> you leave this institution with an obvious amount of fondness and respect for what it can accomplish. the public view congress now is that it is at one of its all- time lows. what will it take to turn that around? >> i think there is the problem of the economy. there is the perception that it did not turn around. fast around in this age of instant communication where the black barry sends you a message and you send a response back in a fraction of a second, people did not see it turn around right away. in our committee, i held hearings every 30 days. i held all states and federal agencies accountable. we should have had twice as much

of the stimulus accounting for jobs. we should have that three times as much funding for infrastructure. we would have had 3 million people working. it will take that turnaround of job creation. it will take some fiscal discipline to bring down the annual deficit and the long-term debt of the federal government. that will help to restore the public trust in the congress. >> last question, if you could put a single word to your motion -- your demotion as you leave this place, what would be? >> nostalgia. >> why? >> because i love what i have worked for and accomplished,

seeing people go back to work in my district when an iron ore processing plant was shut down because of lack of market and allowed a chinese steel market to come in and be a partner and brought people back to work and brought new business. this was a time when you made a difference in people's lives. i will be able to do it in the same way. there is a feeling of accomplishment. i worked to the fullest of my ability every day. it is the greatest honor to be able to serve your peers in this greatest democracy on the face of the earth.

to leave that is difficult. but, i had intended in the next two-four years to find a way to wind it all down and find another pursuit of my energies and interests. it is the end of a chapter, not the end of a book. >> thank you for talking with c- span, we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> congressman oberstar was unseated by a u.s. naval academy graduate who served in the navy reserve for 24 years. he will be the first republican to represent minnesota's eighth district since 1947. watch the representatives elect and the rest of the incoming freshman class as the 112 congress convenes on wednesday,

january 5. we will have live coverage from the first gavel at noon here on c-span. >> you are watching c-span, bringing you politics and public affairs. every morning is "washington journal," connecting you with elected officials, policy makers, and journalists. watch the u.s. house and the transition to the new congress and every week night, congressional hearings and policy forms and oral arguments. on the weekend, you can see our signature programs. you can also watch our programming any time at c- span.org and it is searchable on our cspan video library. washington, your way, the public service created by america's cable companies. >> coming up on "washington >> coming up on "washington